"....We visited the slums afterwards and were lucky enough to be invited into a couple of the houses - it was quite shocking. the houses are very small, smaller than our bathrooms, and there are 5 - 7 people living in each of them. The side streets are crowded and there are animals everywhere. Sewage flowed freely down the dirt paths and it was a very smelly pace. The kids were all desperate to touch us and hold our hands, a lot of us cried when we had to leave. Its such a shock to the system seeing people live like that in real life rather that on television adverts, seeing it first hand is an experience that will always be with us. Perhaps in the future when we’re all older we’ll go back and try to help these people. Until then they will be in our thoughts and in our hearts. x...."
Painting the school, the first task taken on by the team proved to be well accepted by the staff and pupils alike. The primary school kids went off for a public holiday only to return to see their school looking like new after a coat of paint.
Armed and dangerous, here the 'rebel' army prepare for action.
The team had a wonderful opportunity to visit 'Dwelling Places' a rescue and rehabilitation operation for street kids, in Kampala. Here Diana one of the staff receives gifts left for the children by the team.
On the way to Jinja to see the source of the Nile an the Bujagali Falls, we stooped off to visit Bweyogerere Multi Purpose Primary School where Mission International's Mighty Meals project is in operation. The source of the Nile, here the waters of Lake Victoria start their epic journey north to Egypt where they meet the ocean.
The equator was a real educational experience, watching how water behaves to the north and south of the line and right on top of it as well as knowing that due to centrifugal force a person who stands on the equator is 3% lighter. Bethany Village near Kyaggwe meant more painting, but the team did not get all of the paint on the walls of the orphanage house. A photo call to use an African hoe, here is the site for Bethany's new football and sports ground after it was cleared by a bulldozer the team tried their had at levelling the soil. Namutamba is a very rural village, the team spent two days there being entertained by the kids and viewing their site where they hope to build a new school and agricultural project amongst other things. Murchison Falls game park rounded off the visit to Uganda. This is a particularly good tourist attraction with lots of animals to see. The Murchison Falls is able to be viewed from the bottom of the falls area after a 90 minute boat ride where the team were able to see all sorts of animals and birds.
The top of the falls is spectacular as the water rushes down the huge chasm causing an incredible noise and spray as it plunges down to the river below.
The team of 8 pupils and three staff from Menzieshill High School have been commended already by the staff at Gabba Community and the Maranatha School for their hard work and expertise in painting the outside of the school building and repainting some of the classrooms. Their commitment has been unwavering and their skills very useful as they took the opportunity of a public holiday in Uganda to make sure the paintwork on the school was up to scratch.
From their base in a local guest hose the team have visited various parts of the country, from Katwe (the biggest slum in Uganda) where they met the Dwelling Places team and the kids and families they work amongst to Link International's Hosanna and Katwe Primary Schools. Jinja and the source of the Nile and the Bujagali Falls were also on their itinerary. The team also visited a Mission International project called Mighty Meals in Bweyogerere.
The team carried with them a wide range of supplies for schools, medical facilities and lots of clothes and toys for children. Here the headmaster of Maranatha School recieves three microscopes donated by Menzieshill High School along with a consignment of useful school materials and equipment.
There is always time to meet some new friends, here a team member has some fun with one of the local kids who were all very interested in the Mzungu team.
A local market shop called "QUINCAILLERIE NOOR" has provided 150kg of rice and 150 kg of beans to help feed the Hope Centre children, after funds to feed the poor were sent to them from Pakistan.Pastor Leonard Tuyishimire (Hope Centre founder - far right) thanks the shop owners fo their generosity in providing support for the children. A full pictorial report on how this and other developments are progressing for the Hope Centre can be found byclicking here.
It is quite a load but it is squeezed into Charles' car and transported to feed the children.
Hope Centre foundations are put in place: Charles & Val Carr and their boys, who left Aberdeen in July 2008, are now firmly ensconced in Burundi, they have now found their own house to rent and have begun the work of putting down the foundations for the Hope Centre in Mutimbuzi, Gatumba by Bujumbura. As you will see from the picture below, the block presses have arrived and the work of making blocks has begun.
A block press is filled with sieved soil mixed with a small amount of cement.
Septic tanks and soakaways for water and sewage are constructed. Shuttering is constructed to form the tanks for the latrines.
A team from Menzieshill High School in Dundee are undergoing some training before setting of for Gabba in Uganda during the first three weeks of October 2008. The training deals with issues of culture, health and safety and practical issues to do with the work to be carried out whilst in country. Pupils and staff are meeting together on Wednesday evenings for two hours on the run up to the trip in order that the full training schedule can be completed before departure.
Below is a local map of the area showing Gaba (often spelt Ggaba, or Gabba) on the shores of lake Victoria.
Busy itinerary ahead:
The team will visit a number of centres including some tourist destinations during their time in Uganda. From their base in Gaba they will spend a few days in Kyaggwe (Bethany Children's Village) where they will interact with the orphaned children as well as get involved in the project doing tasks like painting and cleaning etc.
The tourist part of the trip will entail visits to the equator, near Masaka, the source of the Nile at Jinja and the Murchison Falls Game Park. It is hoped that the team will also have the opportunity to visit Namogongo where Christian martyrs were killed as the Roman Catholic Church first spread the Gospel in Uganda. The Kings' traditional palace home in Kampala is also a well known tourist destination. The Rwenzori Mountains (Mountains of the Moon) are too far for the team to travel on their trip on this occasion.
There are those who make things happen, those who watch things happen and those who ask what happened? During this three week trip the five strong Mission International team supported by a number of the Rema Team visited three centres in Burundi from our base in Bujumbura, Burundi's capital city. Our first few days was spent in a village near the town of Rutana called Kiramvya, there the team were involved in various activities from seminars to train church leaders to craft workshops to support women trainers providing training in income generation projects to ladies with HIV/AIDS, as well as entertainment and teaching for the many children who are often forgotten but need to be involved in the development of the whole community. The second week we spent in Rumonge which is a town on the lakeside, due south of Bujumbura about half way to the border with Tanzania. Our final week took us to an 40s built mission station in the village of Mweya, which is a few miles outside of Gitega, Burundi's second largest city which lies in the dead centre of the country.
This map shows the three centres visited Rutana, Rumonge (on the lakeside) and Gitega in the very centre of the country.
Bujumbura, the capital of Burundi, is typical of African cities. Grid locked streets, trading happening on every space, from early morning until dark the activity is frenetic.
To add to the frenzy which is Burundi's daily struggle for survival there is a new problem on the horizon. Now that the war is over and all of the factions have signed a peace agreement, the refugees are returning from DR Congo, Tanzania, Kenya and Uganda. It is estimated that approximately 10% of the current population of 8-9 Million are refugees. As you can imagine their determination to return to their homeland after years in exile is proving to be a headache for the authorities. Where do you put all of these people in a country the size of Wales and whose population is already causing problems in terms of land, food supply and jobs. "Why don't they stay where they are as refugees" you may well ask, but for example, the Tanzanian Government, who publicly state that the refugees can stay in Tanzania, has now stopped all support for refugees in terms of education etc. The pressure therefore to return to Burundi is mounting all the time.
When resources are scarce necessity becomes the mother of invention:
The picture below gives some indication of the kind of poverty endemic in Africa, and as Africa's poorest country, Burundi is no exception. How ever 'the show' - life - must go on and so ingenious methods are employed to make it possible.
This church choir is led by a lad who has made his own guitar from an oil can and some wood.
How far would you go to get the training you so badly need?
These men had traveled from around Burundi to come to this church leaders and men's event. For some they had saved up for a considerable time to be able to afford the journey and for others they had borrowed the fare. Mission International paid for their food and thy all slept on the dusty floor of a local primary school. Many church leaders were killed during the war simply because they were educated, this means that most church leaders now are un-educated and so require training and support wherever possible. This is part of Rema's remit and Mission International was enlisted to help in what is now a huge task.
1000 men arrive for a men's meeting in Mweya near Gitega, some coming from as far away as DR Congo border region.
A two day strategy training session was carried out with the Rema team in their offices in Bujumbura.
Some of the poorer children from the refugee community are invited into the school classrooms to be involved in a simple art project which allows them to enjoy something that until then was only a figment of their imagination.
This blog is intended to keep you up to date with the current events going on within Mission International and the projects and teams that we are undertaking. Blogs always give the last entry first and so if you want to know more, page down and look for the option to view older blogs. Also, The 'Blog Archive' list below will take you directly to a particular post item. The links added to this blog will take you to other blogs related to the work of Mission International and to our website as well as give you the option to support our work. Should you wish to contact us at any time please email us on mail@mission-international.org Enjoy!
Mission International is a charity registered in Scotland - Number SC038645
Married to Marie, with 4 children and two dogs. Was asked in 1989 to become 'an ambassador for the poor' and have been trying to do that ever since. Today the mission burns in my bones more strongly than it did at the start. There are times however, when I see the way that our world, me included, treats the poor, that I despair of the future both short and long term, if there is any long term left for this ailing planet. There are many programmes, projects and initiatives taking place around the world that are intended to bring relief to the poor however the boffins will tell us that Africa in particular is getting poorer and conditions are getting worse. The inevitable press attention when Sir Bob, Midge Ure and others made efforts to raise the profile of the plight of the poor and it makes no lasting difference we may have to ask the question how then we will see positive and lasting change brought about. The blisteringly rich dip their hands in their pockets and suggest that by some stoke of good fortune their efforts have changed things appreciably; frankly until the selfish heart is changed then no positive long-term change can happen.
On the way to Jinja to see the source of the Nile an the Bujagali Falls, we stooped off to visit Bweyogerere Multi Purpose Primary School where Mission International's Mighty Meals project is in operation.
The source of the Nile, here the waters of Lake Victoria start their epic journey north to Egypt where they meet the ocean.
